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10 You[a] once were not a people, but now you are God’s people. You were shown no mercy,[b] but now you have received mercy.

11 Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to keep away from fleshly desires that do battle against the soul, 12 and maintain good conduct[c] among the non-Christians,[d] so that though[e] they now malign you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God when he appears.[f]

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Peter 2:10 tn Grk “who,” continuing the description of the readers from vs. 9. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  2. 1 Peter 2:10 sn The quotations in v. 10 are from Hos 1:6, 9; 2:23.
  3. 1 Peter 2:12 tn Grk “keeping your conduct good.”
  4. 1 Peter 2:12 tn Grk “the Gentiles,” used here of those who are not God’s people.
  5. 1 Peter 2:12 tn Grk “in order that in what they malign you.”
  6. 1 Peter 2:12 tn Or “when he visits.” Grk “in the day of visitation,” denoting a time when God intervenes directly in human affairs, either for blessing (Luke 1:68, 78; 7:16; 19:44) or for judgment (Isa 10:3; Jer 6:15). This phrase may be a quotation from Isa 10:3, in which case judgment is in view here. But blessing seems to be the point, since part of the motive for good behavior is winning the non-Christian over to the faith (as in 3:1; also apparently in 3:15; cf. Matt 5:16).

10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God;(A) once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Living Godly Lives in a Pagan Society

11 Dear friends,(B) I urge you, as foreigners and exiles,(C) to abstain from sinful desires,(D) which wage war against your soul.(E) 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds(F) and glorify God(G) on the day he visits us.

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